Full Review - Updates and Conclusion
No-Doze for DAPs
One difference between the Sansa Connect and many other DAPs - one that I find to be a great relief - is the fact that it can continue to play music while connected to, charging from or even syncing songs with the host computer. With iPods and countless other DAPs, a connection to the host computer knocks the DAP unconscious and renders it useless until the syncing is done and the connection is broken. It's terribly annoying. The Sansa Connect thankfully rises above this primordial comatose state and remains fully functional all the time. Cheers to SanDisk for that evolutionary step forward.
Updates
SanDisk included a very important feature - one that you won't use much but you'll certainly appreciate. The feature is automatic firmware updating. Whenever SanDisk has an update to the user interface, whether they've overcome an obstacle (like the trouble getting past Starbucks WiFi welcome pages), they'll automatically perform a firmware update on your device the next time it's connected by Wifi or via your computer.
Headphones
As with most MP3 players, the Sansa Connect comes with freebie, so-so quality headphones. They sound fine when playing Internet radio and downloaded songs. To take advantage of a more fulfilling music experience, you'll want to invest in a more dynamic set of headphones, like Bose TriPort or even more advanced headphones like the Pioneer SE-A1000 set. Of course, with larger, more aggressive headphones comes greatly reduced battery life. It all comes down to which is more important to you - long sessions of listening to "ok" audio, or shorter bouts of significantly more enjoyable music.
Conclusion
Overall, the Sansa Connect is a great MP3 player that should appeal to a huge cross section of the DAP consumer base. While the Sansa Connect doesn't offer some of the more prominent features of recent DAPs (video, recording, etc.), it does offer a new and exciting foray into WiFi connectivity and friendly, legal music sharing. The physical design is very appealing, the sound quality is on par with most, if not all of its competitors, and it has potentially unlimited expandability thanks to the microSD card slot.
The Sansa Connect is a great MP3 player, especially for folks looking for a subscription-based, iTunes-free experience. It's bit of a bummer that SanDisk left the Mac community out of the loop on this device.
Pros:
• Expandable with microSD card
• WiFi capable
• Good sound
• Built-in speaker
Cons:
• No Mac support
• High price point for 4GB DAP
RSS Feed
by L Stafford on February 4, 2008:
“Great player in concept and good sound.......when plugged into charger. Absolutely unreliable battery recharge-will not fully recharge overnight even with Wi-Fi circuits off and short battery life and unresponsive controls at times. No FM radio-should be...” More...